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College Football Opening Odds: Week 3

Saturday went to the dogs in college football betting – and to the books.

Underdogs were the winning side in 40 of the 67 lined games with one push. That does not include the Savannah State-Florida State game, which was cancelled in the third quarter due to inclement weather.

All bets were ruled no action, with college games having to go 55 minutes in order to be official at sportsbooks.

Dave Mason, brand manager at BetOnline, told OddsShark.com via direct message Saturday that his book needed Syracuse, Texas A&M and UCLA to cover for a successful day. Two of three isn’t bad.

Over at Bovada, the book was rooting for Central Florida +16 and Under 50’ against Ohio State. Winner-winner, chicken dinner. But that’s in the past.

Surely, bettors will get revenge this week, right? BetOnline was first up with Week 3 college football line again, posting the first numbers in the market at approximately 3 p.m. ET, Sunday.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest early movers, including two under-the-radar games in which the team who began as the favorite is no longer the chalk.

After opening with the Buckeyes favored by 16, this number soared right through the key number of 17 within hours Sunday. Ohio State disposed of Central Florida, but failed to cover in a 31-16 win over the Knights.

The Buckeyes also lost starting running back Carlos Hyde to a knee injury, thinning a running back unit that already was missing projected starter Jordan Hall. The top ATS coach in the game entering this season, Urban Meyer is 2-0 SU and 1-1 ATS in his return to the sidelines.

Cal has surrendered 31 points in each of its first two games, including last week’s far-from-impressive 50-31 win over Southern Utah. It was 27-17 early in the fourth.

Florida @ Tennessee (-2.5) Oddsmakers opened this game as a Pick, but money quickly came in on the Vols and pushed the line up near a field goal. Tennessee’s offense is off to a hot start, behind quarterback Tyler Bray, and is averaging 43 points.

But the Vols’ haven’t seen a defense the caliber of Florida’s. Middle Tennessee (-3.5) at Memphis actually opened as a 2.5-point home favorite, but Middle Tennessee was laying more than a field goal by Monday morning.

The Tigers, who lost their opener to Tennessee-Martin, have been one of the worst bets in the nation, going 11-24 ATS over the last three seasons. But Memphis was competitive in a 33-28 loss at Arkansas State on Saturday.

BYU (-3.5) at Utah Another game that went across the fence, Utah opened as a 3.5-point favorite. Maybe oddsmakers missed starting QB Jordan Wynn getting knocked out of the Utes’ upset loss to Utah State on Friday.

It was announced Monday that Wynn would miss the remainder of the season.

Texas A&M (-13.5) at SMU The Aggies lost as a short favorite at home, but apparently impressed some folks with going toe-to-toe with Florida in their SEC debut. This line opened with A&M giving 10.5, but was closing in on two touchdowns by early Monday.

SMU bounced backed from getting toasted by Baylor in Week 1 to demolish Stephen F. Austin 52-0. The Mustangs are picked to contend in Conference USA and have a shot against the Aggies, who might be a little sore from what was a physical game against Florida.

Trends: The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Virginia's last 6 games when playing on the road against Georgia TechThe total has gone UNDER in 5 of Georgia Tech's last 6 games when playing at home against Virginia

Trends: The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Virginia's last 6 games when playing on the road against Georgia TechThe total has gone UNDER in 5 of Georgia Tech's last 6 games when playing at home against Virginia

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